PAYNES CREEK ? A Vacaville man was shot and killed while hunting on the opening day of turkey season.
Larry Gene Pendley was hunting Saturday morning in the Paynes Creek area near Little Giant Mill Road with five friends. Four of them had hunted together for 30 years, with Pendley the relative newcomer to the group. He had been hunting with the men for 10 years, said Tehama County Sheriff Clay Parker.
A Tehama Sheriff's Department release said an investigation showed Pendley was accidentally shot by 50-year-old Stephen Henderson, a member of his hunting party.
Turkey season opened Saturday and everyone was in camouflage as the group started out together before breaking up to stalk the birds, Parker said.
"The victim got down on his hands and knees and was crawling through brush," Parker said. "His friend was about 30 yards away and saw movement. He thought it was a tom and hit the victim."
Parker said Pendley, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was hit in the upper chest and head with a heavy turkey load from a 12-gauge shotgun.
The official cause of death is pending the results of an autopsy, which should be completed within a few days, he said.
The case is still under investigation.
Hunters are always reminded to identify game before shooting and are taught never to shoot at movement unless they know what is moving.
Julie Zeeb is a reporter for the Red Bluff Daily News.
